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The three public service announcements, which aim to get viewers to donate to Kids Tennis, depict apathetic young hockey players who come alive when a tennis ball is tossed their way.

Picking on hockey was a strategy, said Joseph Bonnici, creative director at Toronto ad agency Bensimon Byrne which designed the campaign.

“We know that essentially anything that involves hockey gets picked up in the press and gets talked about and starts conversation; so to put Tennis Canada up against the sport of hockey is a powerful way to start a conversation about why tennis is also a viable sport for Canadian kids,” he explained. “It’s leveraging the power of hockey to promote tennis.”

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Tennis is ranked as the 7th most participated sport in Canada, Bonnici said.

Companies like Samsung, which mocks Apple in recent ads, have made competitive advertising routine, said McMaster University marketing professor Mandeep Malik.

“The original was Avis in the 1960s with the “We’re No. 2 and we try harder” campaign which beat Hertz at their own game.

“There’s probably enough to be said about tennis —globally, it’s probably more influential in terms of sponsor dollars and viewership and support” without comparing it to hockey, but this approach will “raise some chatter around it.”

Last year’s Tennis Canada campaign featured Canadian tennis champ Milos Raonic being trashtalked by an 8-year-old competitor. The organization sought to raise awareness about Kids Tennis which was developed in the last decade by the International Tennis Federation and utilizes smaller racquets, smaller courts, lower nets and softer balls which don’t bounce as high.

“Our research tells us that historically, because kids were forced to play adult-sized tennis, they didn’t start until later; we know there’s a great opportunity to get more kids under 10 playing tennis,” said Michael S. Downey, President and CEO, Tennis Canada.

This year’s inaugural call to action will see donated funds matched by the organization used to foster tennis through public schools, awareness campaigns, competitions and neighbourhood clubs.

With portable Kids Tennis kits, which include nets and racquets, costing less than $100, youth can play in driveways, backyards, gymnasiums and even on the road, like street hockey, Downey said.

“We’re playing with a national pastime called hockey, but we think that’s the way to actually get people’s attention, quite frankly,” he said. We hope people see the levity of the whole thing. It’s actually a back end compliment; it’s inferring most kids want to play hockey.”

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